


A game of prowls

by gimmethaticecream



Category: Dominion (TV)
Genre: Crack, Gen, Michael-derision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 01:15:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3099554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmethaticecream/pseuds/gimmethaticecream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I think people tend to forget how much of a burden my brother can be. I mean I did not just have to stop The Flood with Uriel. Michael is like a child you have to watch all the time. He wants to redeem himself but he doesn't even know himself just yet and when it comes to killing sprees, he's a ticking bomb. So excuse me if I tend to lurk and enjoy the boring life of my brother like a puppet master."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A game of prowls

_So you don't know how Michael and I ended up being so different? Well you don't have enough days left to hear the whole story. Sorry for the spoiler. But let me give you a 'short' exemple._

I have been watching Michael's avenging nights assiduously for a few weeks now. If at first the point was just to cackle at my weird of a brother behind large rocks, I ended up watching a human who was himself stalking one careless Archangel. I kept an eye on Michael as flood prevention, the human was one hazard I did not expect.  
He spied silently, his jaw dropped everytime he'd spot Michael approaching from over the mountains, wings spread. Days went by and I watched the human step his game up, bringing along goggles, snacks, warm coats. One evening I even found the man on my very perfect spot; I mean the vermin forced me to move to another location, higher and actually better. The human was so eager to study an angel washing himself off by the lake.  
Basic voyeurism at work.

So I focused on the human's curiosity. Every now and then, I had to remove his camera's battery. When the man came up with an extra battery, I waited for him to put it on his laptop to erase the video, erase the back up until I trashed the laptop. At some point I even ruined the camera and the new one the man bought as a replacement. It was a tiresome task to babysit a human and a careless angel at the same time.  
But I was eager to see the human confronting my brother at some point. Can you imagine the last creature in the chain of creation underlining the Archangel Michael his lack of professionalism, that would definitely be the climax of my month of stake-out.

"Nice Wings."

I almost blew my cover with the urge to fist high in the air in victory.  
I would normally be quite disappointed by the lack of creativity in the first words pronounced by the human to an angel; the compliment was really random for such a major step. But I had waited for this first contact for so long, all I cared about was how puzzled my brother would look. I mean have you seen his impassive face, his failure at acting alive? If this adventurous man didn't stir much on my brother's face I could as well give up.

Michael winced, gritting his teeth behind sealed lips, I suppose. Everything in him must have shouted that he had it coming, heavens weighing upon him in silence as a refusal to interfere in his mess or may I say: as MY refusal to help him out.  
He stood, strong, facing the lake, soles dipped in the still water, fingers twitching like they did when he was considering options.

He had a courtesy flight from the city to the Merced River of Central Valley, California. It was something he did every night after beating up a few gangsters in town, around 3 in the morning when no one was awoken or sober enough to tell his shape from the one of a bird. No human should be asked to testify anything happening between 2:30 and 4:00. That was his belief, now I and the rest of the Archangels ranks upstairs frowned upon his little exposure.  
Michael let the man's words linger.

_How hard are you overthinking this brother? Do you think that you've just been unlucky this time? Or do you realize everytime you froze on your spot, it was not paranoia striking your senses but a man watching you?_  
 _Of course no one is supposed to be in the Yosemite domain at such a time, if not a fool. Because you could not be the fool for overlooking your own discretion._

I could hear the faint scuffs of the human from where I was, the words fighting the right to be pronounced since the silence only increased his doubts.  
To me, even so far, it was clear that the human wasn't scared enough, his heartbeats were too steady for an angel encounter. The lowlife was even stepping closer to my careless brother.  
I sat back against the tree, carefully, unlike one other angel down there. I know my brother enough to foresee his typical reaction: _wait for Gabriel's need to show how perfect his angel guards in training are, let them do their job, go on with my life_. Well I train the guards every day and Michael happens to give me the best practices. Because let's face it, Michael might have protested against my interferences, he took quite the habit to look up the sky and wait for my loyal guards to help him out a delicate situation.

  
A few minutes passed and I down here, gave no order, waiting to see how Michael would sort his pin out of his mess.  
I supposed his next plan would be to fly off without a word if I would not send in the cavalerie but the shame in such an uncelestial reaction would be hard to deal with when he'd face me again. So what would he do?  
If it were me, I'd be friendly, because I'm cool like that. I'd ask the man to keep my existance a secret to the grave and I'd make sure the secret would be in the grave without losing another minute. Uriel would certainly just get rid of the riddance without niceties.

"I know."  
 _Oh he knows!_

Michael had never been good at rhetoric, he could only express himself with a blade. I refrained a cackle, the tension between the man and my brother just rose.  
 _What a dumb way to engage an angel, man, and what a useless answer, brother: you have wings he doesn't, end of story._

No matter how petty Michael's answer was, it broke the rhythm of the man's heart. He gasped.  
 _Yes you pitiful human, it talks, the winged creature talks, I'm almost as surprised as you are. Rudimentary speech alright, but it can communicate, you should meet him again on full moon, he's a delight._  
I felt so bored this was the kind of climax between species that should engage metaphysical arguments, poetry? passion and here I was. Witnessing two plants having a conversation. I bet plants would actually be bubbly in comparison. I wasted my time, nothing good could come out of a date between those toddler in adult bodies under a waxing gibbous moon.

Michael rested a knee down washing off the dirt and blood he had on his shoe as he first intended to. I supposed he gave himself time to process his exposure and come up with a plan. This lake sure was his favorite place to clean the gangster blood off his clothes and body.

"Should I worry how dark they are?" The man chose to deal with his fright right out there.

_So it could get worse._ My cheeks were instantly filled with a lot of air I had to blow out strong and long.  
I watched Michael, rooting for him to be bored too at this point, it was past giving a damn o'clock. But he shifted to his other shoe, leaving the human and I wondering some more.  
 _Giving yourself another decade to think about it brother?_

I yawned extravagantly, putting a show for my own pleasure because clearly, I'd had to entertain myself.  
Right. Down here an angel was supposed to be all in white, tiny on a shoulder if not gigantic in mythical fights. Friendly although distant. Dark wings were everything else: bats if not vampires, flying monkeys or dragons.  
Michael's lips curled weakly and he stood back up.  
  
"Should you?"  
  
On these words, Michael turned to face the man, wings extended in all their glory, velvety feathers hissing discreetly in the gracious deployment.  
Well what a romantic view by the lake, nice aesthetics. So my brother could put on a show. That was new intel.

From the corner of his eyes to the moment they faced each other, Michael was able to see the man's face go from confident curiosity to astonishing fright.  
This very discomposed face of a human seemed like a warning sent right from heaven: Michael was stepping out of his field, unveiling knowledge to the spoiled toddlers humans were. The man dropped to his knees, his legs giving up at his sight.  
The wings twirled back in the Michael's back so fast one would even wonder if they were ever there.  
Anything humans couldn't understand or explain was mystic, what's mystic is above them and is to be pleased, - not that I would mind, vut the rules that bind us angels, if you knew, - in all the extreme ways humanity has displayed over and over since its creation: animosity, vile actions to be better than the neighbor.  
Dumb human feelings, brainless impulses and I cut most of the shameful crap here.

This was definitely not his place to be, nor his lesson to teach, I agreed on this point but I still waited for the coup de grâce, you know, die hard fans never die or whatever.

Michael's look somewhat darkened, but nothing you could discern, duh. All thanks to our twin bond, I see his impassive blank, if not blue, face and I can see him spread all over the floor crying in despair for exemple. Yes, it's quite the funny curse to be his other half.  
He was certainly regretting the man had to see his true form. Within a second, he severed the man's head from the rest of his body, tainting his blade of sickening warm crimson.  
 _AT LAST, BROTHER!_

Michael did not move for a few minutes, looking at his blade and I knew what he was ruminating under his dark scalp: what was the point of saving a life and having to take one to keep his kind a myth to humanity?  
He watched the body flood all over the small rocks, slowly spreading in the lake.

I sighed. At that point, the action I've been looking for was just over. I stood on my branch, ready to fly off when the echo of a cough caught us off guard.  
 _Oh, calamity._

Michael ran to the trees in the direction of the remaining human presence and soon he discerned a small van.  
I did see the kid when I fooled the man around, a good kid I guess, but children became orphans all the time, that was nothing I'd worry about. Michael cleaned his blade off against his left sleeve and slowed his pace down to walk almost solemnly to the van. He would just flood some more, just a little more; that extra kill wouldn't be a murder, just collateral damage to another collateral damage. If I was looking forward to his kill by the lake, I wasn't so keen on letting him take infant lives so easily. I just didn't trust Michael to stop himself after spilling so much blood in such a short time. I decided to step out of my hideout.

The hiss of angel wings was very familiar to Michael's sharp ears, and yet after so many centuries, only one Angel was able to trick his senses: I'm special like that. I could manage to fly unnoticed until I'm 3 foot away on a quiet night like that one. For the records, a three foot strike at my warrior speed and with my strength ain't easy to counter attack. Michael's wings twirled off, pushing his body back and up to avoid a frontal hit, but I shoved him right in the abdomen, forcing his body into a massive pine.  
The offensive knocked a few large branches which came crashing down on Michael. His wings motioned in a painfully to my eye, numbed by the shock; long dark feathers jotted the dry floor among hazel leaves and needles. His next fly would definitely hurt.  
I watched Michael shake the tree camouflage off his hair and jacket, just like when we were young playing war.  
That should be the moment he'd shout 'WHAT THE FUCK MAN' if he had the ability to express himself with his mouth, but Michael wouldn't make it that fun. He'd struggle off some mature observation, avoiding confrontation with me and or angel at all cost.

"Don't interfere with my business."  
"Business?" I chuckled. "Really? It's business you're doing with humans? Because to me it looked like cleaning a mess with another mess, and cleaning the latter with another one, you know, until it doesn't seem so much like damage control but rightful wrath."  
My words echoed in the silence of the forest now deserted by birds. The echo in this valley was to fall for, I could now understand why my brother liked it so much. Michael closed his eyelids, taking a deep breath. He only managed showing off one feeling very well and it was his being fed up with whatever statement I would come up with. Well that night, the privilege of inspiring his face wouldn't prevent him a lecture.

"Taking children lives is apparented with the Flood I think, brother."  
The mere mention of the word Flood was enough to temper with Michael's stern face. As an Archangel, he wasn't supposed to be ashamed, yet his long fiction coated misinterpretation of our father's words still stirred a flash of distress in his eyes.  
"Can't you drop that argument? I'm not some junky kid."  
I poked my head to the side, very human-like, half curious, half amused. I did not trust him enough to stop watching over, so yes: he, of all angels, needed a guardian angel. And I did appreciate the junky kid image, I will keep it for later use.

Michael let his wings rest in his back, sparing himself the pain of folding them and knowing he wouldn't bare my company very long. His arm rose to gesture at the van.  
"I don't feel the need to seek your approval, Gabriel but this," he paused and sighed, "was no unmeasured decision of mine."  
Of my siblings , Michael was the most inclined to guilt, unexpectedly.  
I could feel where this was going: he would tell me how the kid would become a human he'd have to watch over, a kind of guarantee of luck in compensation for the death of a parent by his hands. Michael knew how much Uriel and I disliked his increasing interference with humans so he used this to justify his next murder of the night.  
"Do you really want to see me piling up anchors on earth among humans?"  
There it was.  
I chuckled and breathed out loud in exasperation, like this was all so comic yet somewhat unnerving.

"All I see is you, belittling human lives in a short period of time. All I see is the Flood peaking with a cute and shy smile and my brother acting like he cares to spend time with his kin."  
By the end of the sentence, my tone had sharpened, marking my limits in the matter.

Michael walked past me toward the van when I spoke up, interrupting him with my last try at avoiding a brotherly wrestle.  
"If you want him cut lose, fine. Let me deal with it."

Michael frowned, his upper lip rising up on one side in a distinctive disgust feature.  
I joined his side, ready to engage. So very ready I breathed out long and when Michael simply walked away.  
I stood still for a while, pursing my lips up in content, confident he wouldn't come back so soon.

I did not trust his moods for his Flood Era was still vivid in my memory.  
I looked up to the starry sky, seeking support.

A few minutes later three angels were down with me, handling the child under my command. The kid would be brought to human care, end of story. No matter how condescendingly I regarded Michael's bias for humans, I didn't risk the infliction, keeping my distance from the lower creatures and sparing lives if I could. Michael was afterall my twin, I wouldn't risk falling going down his path.

  
"And Noma." I called my most trusted lieutenant.  
She turned, sending her long ebony hair off her shoulder, holding the toddler in her arms.  
"Make sure he doesn't find the boy."  
She nodded and would certainly execute my order efficiently, but I kept an eye on her. Not just for the sake of her stunning looks but for the closeness she was bound to acquire with my brother. She'd been babysitting Michael for a while now and her dedication to this task almost made me question her loyalty.

\-----

"So much for the nice wings."

_Not again._  
Noma smiled, lowering her head. So she, as well, witness Michael's kill in the forest from wherever she was. I was actually surprised I did not notice her presence.

She took the time to watch the babies of the nursing room in silence, oblivious of Michael's presence in the room. Meanwhile I stood right on the other side of the window, in the street, listening closely.  
She just admitted witnessing the short conversation the Michael had with an unfortunate human earlier. Still when she looked up at the angel who circled around the room, making eye contact here and there, she didn't look surprised by his presence in the orphanage. Michael made it clear that he he knew where the kid was. Of course Michael tailed her nice and easy, which is why I tend to keep an eye out for my lieutenant.

  
"Did they hiss that badly?" Michael asked, staring at Noma. Like could he be some more indecent?  
"They could make a deaf angel cringe."  
Noma didn't need Michael arboring bruised wings to hear him approaching. He had definitely reached another step on the scale of getting under her skin and no matter how bad it was for her operations, I still trusted her to have a few tricks to use against my brother if needed.  
Michael pursed his lips up faintly in some kind of approval expression, the one I settled on as a sheepish smile.

"Will you keep an eye on him?"  
 _Oh shut up Michael._

Noma's eyes shot Michael; she had always disliked being used in between Michael and I. She was supposed to execute my orders and she had that soft spot for the angel she had to keep at large. I knew Michael took a blatant advantage of it but he respected Noma enough to avoid messing with her missions. He wouldn't visit the kid; just as I desired.  
Noma stepped back slowly, looking at Michael, and turned away when she was close enough to the door. He wouldn't get a much clearer agreement and they'd never speak of it again.

I joined Noma on her escape route. She raised a brow.

"Did you have to spy on me, executing your commands, sir?"  
I chuckled out loud, finally free to do so.  
"Well did you have to have to spy on me spying on that human, spying on my brother?"  
She bit her lower lip, that was fair enough. We flew off.

_I think people tend to forget how much of a burden my brother can be. I mean I did not just stop The Flood with Uriel. Michael is like a child you have to watch all the time. He wants to redeem himself but he doesn't know himself just yet and when it comes to killing sprees, he's a ticking bomb. So excuse me if I tend to lurk and enjoy the boring life of my brother like a puppet master._

_PS: if you think I have issues, I'm sorry to announce you that Noma was apparently at the top of the chain of lurkers that one time._

**Author's Note:**

> That's my first try at dominion themed crack.  
> It was supposed be even more messy but I don't think I'm ready for full force Gabriel. I can't help but pull the Dominion Gabriel with the Supernatural one.


End file.
